After an eight-year hiatus, Montreal’s genre-bending composer Karneef returns with It’s How You Say It, a fearless seven-song voyage through personal growth and sonic experimentation. Conceived amid an existential realignment, this record marries his jazz-fusion heroes (Weather Report, Tony Williams) with electronic glitch, Dario Argento–style tension, and freewheeling synth riffs.
Title track “It’s How You Say It” bursts open with ping-ponging synths and probing saxophone lines before settling into a loose, driving beat—Karneef’s statement that form follows feeling. On “Insides Match the Outside,” a warbling melody shimmers into rapid-fire bass and taut drums, capturing the push-pull of craving external validation while chasing inner peace. Elsewhere, razor-sharp guitar leads rocket between keys, and falsetto vocal peaks land like sudden revelations.
Across each track, Karneef stitches together unexpected turns: Internet-era kitsch, ’90s B-movie pastiche, and fresh avant-pop gestures that keep listeners guessing. His lyrical focus on kindness and careful expression—born from a recent personal overhaul—imbues every note with warmth and conviction. The result is music that feels both cathartic and exhilarating, inviting you to lean in and discover hidden corners of rhythm and harmony.
Enlisting talents like Dolphin Hyperspace’s Logan Kane and Nicole McCabe, Grammy-nominated Housefly, and Barr Brothers’ Brad Barr, Karneef crafts a collaborative soundscape that refuses to sit still. It’s How You Say It isn’t just a comeback—it’s a bold declaration that the most powerful moments in music come when you learn to listen to what you’re really saying.
Karneef Live
Apr 30 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa
Stream It’s How You Say It below: